Author

Date of Award

4-21-2010

Degree Type

Honors Paper

Department

English

First Advisor

E. Derek Taylor, Ph.D.

Abstract

This thesis reviews and discusses narrative distance in the works of George Gordon, Lord Byron, and Jonathan Swift or “A Digression in Praise of Digressions.” Byron takes on multiple roles in his poetry. Swift provided Byron a model for how to negotiate the boundaries of fictional self-fashioning and biographical revelation. Bryon’s technique of presenting a version of himself while simultaneously maintaining narrative distance is a distinct characteristics of Swift’s work. The thesis adapts to an important fact in that Byron, although writing in the age of Romanticism, significantly and unflinchingly sought distance between himself and Romantic figures.

Share

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.